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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bat — the animal
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. branch — a division
  7. suit — clothes
  8. present — the time now
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. file — a tool
  12. present — a gift
  13. suit — in cards
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. present — there
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. suit — to fit
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a document
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com